


Distorted

by MissKaedex



Category: Naruto
Genre: After 4th Great Ninja War, Angst, F/M, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-08-01 15:12:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16286927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissKaedex/pseuds/MissKaedex
Summary: The past always had a way of catching up to the present. No matter how hard they tried to right their wrongs, the demons, they themselves had created, never fully went away. Sasuke Uchiha had to find this out the hard way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't read or watched Naruto in a very long time, so my knowledge about the show might be a bit outdated lol, feel free to point out any inaccuracies. :)

\---

He threw the body onto the desk, making the paper stack at the end topple over and slide to the floor. 

The man behind it sighed, racking a pale hand through his brown hair. He looked at the papers scattered all across the ground and then at the man who had thrown the body so carelessly onto his desk. 

"Sasuke, do you always have toss them onto the desk like that?" He asked, slightly irritated, the chair scraping against the wooden floor as he stood up, grabbing the man on the table by his shoulder and turning him around. He inspected the bodies’ face, grabbing his jaw and tilting his head from side to side. "This is the third one this week, you are getting really lucky. The state he is in though, I'm assuming he wasn't cooperating very much?" 

Sasuke tossed a crumpled piece of paper onto the body, it was covered in dried blood. The man grabbed it, unfolding it swiftly. He quickly skimmed the paper, then looked back at the man. He let go of his jaw, looking down at his own now in blood covered hand in disgust. 

"Yup, that's him, Ren Akira, wanted; dead or alive for murder and theft. 900,000 Yen." The brown haired man sighed, grabbing a cloth from his desk, wiping his blood smeared hand with it before tossing it into the trashcan. "He's alive too, from the looks of it, what an unlucky bastard, but with you delivering him, that’s not a surprise, is it?" 

The Uchiha shrugged as the man gave him a questioning look. "He was begging for mercy. Who am I to strike down a desperate man, even after what he did." 

"How honourable of you, Sasuke." The man mocked, before sitting back down in his chair. "What a pain in the ass, every time you drag someone along who is still alive and breathing, I still have to go through all the extra hassle of making sure they get a fair trial. Even though I wouldn't mind killing them off just now, they have a bounty for a reason, rotten pigs." 

He watched Sasuke intently waiting for a response, when none came he abruptly leaned back in his chair." I can not pay you fully- at least not today. Only half of the sum, I'll have to get this asshole to the authorities first and get paid myself. Then I'll pay you." He said quickly, smacking the body with the back of his hand. 

"No." Was all that Sasuke said. 

The man blinked a couple of times, taken aback by that statement. "No?" He asked. 

"I want to get paid now, Takashi."

Takashi opened his mouth taking a few seconds to respond, he licked his lips, quickly racking his fingers through his hair. "Look, Sasuke, come on, I never ask this of you. I always pay you on time, you know that, you just have been here the past three days and bringing me these guys. I first have to get rid of them and get the sum of money, it takes a while, you know that right? You're not the only one that comes in here, demanding money from me." He explained. 

"Takashi, I really need that money." Sasuke said, he hesitated a few seconds, before continuing, "I'm planning to leave. Tonight."

Takashi halted and then leaned forwards, placing his hands flat on his desk. "What?! Where?!" He asked sounding almost demanding, words tumbling out of his mouth. "Are you in trouble?" 

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I'm not in any trouble. It's just... I got a letter from, Naruto, he invited me to his wedding. It's been two years since I saw them, almost three, I think... it's time to go back." 

"Oh." Was all that Takashi said after a few beats of silence. "Well, you better get going then, don't want Naruto,” He chuckled, “turning up here and dragging you back to the Hidden Leaf Village. Even though, I would love to meet that fella, he seems like a real funny one.” 

Takashi stood up slowly, walking over to the safe in the corner of the room, Sasuke watched him, but didn’t follow.

"You barely ever talk, much less about the Hidden Leaf." He said, putting in the combination of the safe, in full view of Sasuke to see, it didn't matter much though, Takashi trusted him. There was a click as the safe door opened. “I bet it was beautiful there right? Much better than this place. I wish I could see it. You must miss it dearly, it's your home after all."

"It's awful, actually. I resent it, but someone I cared for deeply, loved it with all his heart. So I won't go against it anymore." Sasuke was quick to answer, watching Takashi take out money and count it. 

The brown haired man closed the safe and walked across the room, he put the money onto the desk, waiting for Sasuke to pick it up." 700,000 Yen, what do you need all that money for anyways?" 

The raven took two steps forward and picked up the money, counting it, 700,000 Yen was generous of Takashi, considering he almost always kept 30% of the money for himself. Not that Sasuke blamed him, the guy was after all the one transporting the bodies and taking the loans. "I need a place to stay, I doubt I get my old estate back, even if, I don't really want to stay there, too many bad memories." 

"So, you're planning on staying in Konoha?" The other asked slowly. 

The Uchiha didn't bother to answer. 

Takashi stepped up behind Sasuke, sliding his hands around the other man's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you." He breathed, kissing the Uchiha's neck softly. "I'm going to miss this." 

Sasuke didn't answer again at first, putting the money in his coat. Then after a few seconds, he finally did. "I told you not to get too attached.” He murmured. 

Takashi laughed into Sasuke's neck, making the other relax into the contact. "I know, I know. Aren't you going to miss me?" 

Sasuke remained silent, choosing to detach himself from the other man and walking towards the door. 

Takashi sat himself onto his desk, placing an arm onto the unconscious guy’s body, as he watched the raven go.

"Sasuke.”

The raven halted in the doorway, looking slightly over his shoulder. "Hm?"

Takashi hesitated for a few seconds, suddenly feeling his heartbeat heavy in his throat. "Will you come back?" He licked his lips, before smirking. "You're one of my best clients after all, who else is going to rid these streets of evil."

Sasuke couldn't help but mirror his smirk. "Maybe." Was all that he said before giving an over the shoulder wave and leaving the office.

Takashi stared after the man, smirk slowly leaving his face. He lowered his eyes towards the body besides him, patting him on the chest. "I really shouldn't have gotten attached, huh?" 

\---

 

Sasuke stepped out of the run down building, eyes slowly going towards the sky, it was cloudy and dark. It would rain soon. He walked through an alley, dipping into the crowded streets, merging with the wave of people. The Village looked small, compared to Konoha, but there were still a lot of people active during the day. 

Making his way, he took a right and ducked into another alley, to a different run down building. He opened the rusty metal door slowly, it screeched loudly, hanging in an odd angle. The upper hinge was broken again. 

He stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind him, he made a left towards the stairs, seeing a bag with groceries at the bottom. He leaned down, grabbing the plastic bag by its handle and slowly made his way up the stairs, knowing exactly who the bag belonged to. He went all the way up, until he could no longer. Walking down the hall he stopped at the door before his own, knocking on it loudly. 

There was some rustling behind the door, as he patiently waited for it to open. When it did he was greeted by an elderly woman, with a warm smile. 

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" She called loudly, her eyes landed on the bag in his hand. "Ah, my dear, you brought me my groceries! I knew I forgot something!" 

Sasuke handed her the bag, which she gratefully took, shuffling back inside. The woman, Mika, always lied about forgetting her groceries at the bottom of the stairs, too embarrassed to admit she did not have the strength to carry them all the way up anymore. He assumed that at least. Everyone in the building knew it was her bag of food at the bottom, but no one dared to steal it, knowing fully well, Sasuke would carry them up to the woman every day. 

He oddly enough wondered what was going to happen to her if he left, would she have to carry the groceries up the stairs by herself everyday? Would someone else help her? He was almost tempted to tell her, that he was leaving, not wanting her to spend the entirety of the next day waiting for him to knock on her door. But he couldn't, he didn't have the heart to, not wanting to grow attached to her. So he decided not to. 

The old Lady shuffled back out, grasping his hand with a small smile and shakily placing an orange in his palm. This was also something she did, she would always give him a piece of fruit as a thank you, the amount of fruit he had in his apartment was tremendous. Not being able to eat everything. Mika would not take No as an answer either, though. 

He nodded a small thanks to her, as he turned away from the door and walked to his own, hearing the woman close hers. 

The curtains were closed inside his apartment, making it pitch black, he turned on the lights and looked around. It was small, but he didn't need much anyways. With a sigh he sat down at the kitchen table, placing the orange in the bowl with the multiple other fruits. 

He let his eyes gaze to the clock at the top of the kitchen wall. He will have to leave soon, if he wanted to reach Konoha in three days. He wondered if he would get attacked on sight, detained or greeted with open arms. He wasn't too sure. Though, he doubted he would be greeted with open arms. He had made quite a name for himself, more bad than good and even now, everyone knew he was active in this village, hunting Wanted People and Missing-Nin. Just like he himself once was, many call him a traitor of his own, a hypocrite, delusional even. As if, taking down others that are just like him, would justify his own sins. 

He spent a last look at the clock, before deciding it was time to get ready and leave. 

 

\---

 

He walked down the stairs, halting at the apartment that was right underneath his. He quietly placed the bag of Mika's fruit in front of this other woman's door. He could hardly eat it all and now it would just rot away in his apartment. So he gave it to Kira. Placing a small note on the bag, asking if she would be so kind to bring Mika her groceries, for he won't be there anymore. He left the note and fruit, knocking on the door and leaving. He could hear her children laughing loudly and their dog barking as he silently moved down the stairs. The screech of the metal door was unbearably loud as he stepped outside. It still hadn't rained. 

He spared one last glance at his old apartment, feeling his heart wrench. Sasuke didn't really like getting attached to certain things and it pained him to say, but he would actually miss this Village. But he could always just come back, if Konoha didn't work out in his favour. 

The travel through the village was faster and easier than before, the sun was starting to set, so not many people were hanging around the market place anymore, giving him the chance to take the main road and not skewer through the back allies. 

When he reached the gate, he halted slightly, sparing a small glance over his shoulder. The wind was starting to pick up, there was definitely a storm coming. Deciding not to linger around any longer, he turned and made his way through the forest, starting his journey back to the Hidden Leaf Village. 

Sasuke didn't get very far, immediately hearing sounds to his left. He stopped dead in his tracks landing on the ground, stance relaxed. It was no threat, he knew that. 

"Yukio, what are you doing here? It's late." He mused, humour lacing his voice slightly. 

"Eh!?" The bush rustled, as a young girl, roughly around the age of thirteen, with blonde hair stumbled out of it. "How did you know, Sasuke-san!?" 

"You were loud. A deaf person would have probably even noticed you." 

The girl gaped slightly at him. "I thought I was being super quiet this time." She then shrugged and smiled. "Look at this!" 

She held up something that looked like a piece of rock, taped to a short wooden branch. Sasuke didn't look impressed. 

"It's a Kunai! I made my own!" She said cheerfully, swinging it around. "I'm a real Shinobi now, Sasuke-san! Just like you! I even sharpened it!" She took another jab at the air. 

Sasuke watched her, this girl spent her days following him around, trying to ambush him. She wanted to become a great Shinobi, though, this Village does not have any neither do they train them, so she attempted to become one by herself. The lack of Shinobi had made this place a hub area for criminal activity, Missing-Nin and mercenaries. 

Sasuke found this girl a little over a year ago, attempting to fight a Missing-Nin from the south. She almost died that day, but she felt the need to protect her village and so, she didn’t back down. Sasuke stayed after that day. The bounties on their heads paid well and no one really cared about him and what he did, everyone just minded their own business. He refused to teach the girl anything about Nin-Jutsu though, not wanting her to get herself into dangerous situations again. He told her, if she managed to catch him off guard one day, he would. Ever since then, hardly a day had passed when he had not seen her.

"You shouldn’t be out here, your mother is going to get worried again." He said to the little girl, who grinned proudly. 

"She doesn't know I'm gone, because I sneaked out! She doesn't really like me playing with you, Sasuke-san, she says you're bad business! I don't believe her though." She stated. “She just doesn’t know you like I do!”

He looked at Yukio, a grim smile tugging at his lips. She was so ignorant and naive, such a foolish little girl. She reminded him of Naruto. Perhaps that's why he always let her stay. 

“Your mother is right, I am dangerous. You also shouldn't be sneaking out, she is going to get worried."

Yukio waved her hand at him, dismissing his claims. "She isn't home anyways. It's boring, so when I saw you pass my house, I had to try to sneak up on you! I'll be back before she comes back, don't worry, Sasuke-san!" She laughed, then her eyes landed on the small bag, filled with food, weapons and a pair of clothes, that was slumped over his shoulder. She stared at it for a few seconds, before catching on.

"Where are you going?" She asked slowly, her face faltering.” Are you leaving, Sasuke-san?" 

It took Sasuke a few seconds to respond, he could just lie, but she would probably be devastated if he left without a word. Probably go searching for him, searching for trouble. Just like Naruto. God, they were so much alike it almost hurt just to look at her. 

He faintly wondered who was going to keep this little girl out of trouble now that he wouldn’t be there anymore. Takashi probably, she also grew on him, after all. 

This Village and their people really did grow on him, he had gotten too attached and he was foolish for it. 

"I'm going home." Sasuke had finally said. The word home, still seemed odd to him. Was it really home? 

There wasn't even half a second of silence, before the child had an outburst. "No!" She yelled, shaking her head frantically, her makeshift headband sliding off and falling to the dirt. "You can't just... Just leave!" 

"You should really go home, it's not save this late at night, Yukio." He said, to change the subject. But the little girl was not having one bit of it. 

"No! I don't want you to go! You can't leave, Sasuke-san! Who is going to stop the bad guys from going through the village!?" She cried, voice breaking slightly. Yukio quickly covered her face, wiping away her tears, so Sasuke wouldn’t see. "You're my only friend, Sasuke-san."

His heart clenched painfully at that and his gut twisted into an unruly feeling. She was so close to Naruto, they were almost identical. It pained him to disappoint someone like this again, but he couldn't stay here and he knew she would understand if she was older, she was only a foolish little girl right now after all. Almost just as foolish as him, when he was younger. 

"Yukio, I'm not the only person working for Takashi. There are other men and women taking care of them." Sasuke said, trying to stay rational and distancing himself from what she had uttered earlier in their conversation. 

There were a few seconds of silence, before the small girl started sobbing again. "I don't want you to leave, Sasuke-san. You're my only friend and also you're the only one who believes in my dream to become a Shinobi. Everyone else makes fun of me! They think I'm stupid." 

The Uchiha frowned at that. He waited a few seconds before stepping towards her. Yukio wiped her face again, trying to rid herself of all her tears. She was barely half his height, so when he stopped before her, she stared up at him. Sasuke crouched down slowly, taking two fingers and poking them against her forehead lightly. The girl jumped and stared at him with wide eyes, covering the spot he had touched with both of her hands. 

The raven smiled, putting his hand onto her head. "Someone, I loved dearly, did that to me as a parting gift. This gesture means a lot to me and now I am giving it to you. You remind me of an old friend, Yukio and just like him I think you are meant for greatness." He whispered. "I believe we will meet again some day and it is said, that the younger generation is always going surpass the older one."

Yukio stared at him, as if trying to process his words. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, as if a switch flipped inside of her, she wiped away her tears and stood tall. She pointed her finger at him and loudly announced," I'm going to make you proud, Sasuke-san! I will! I'll become the greatest Shinobi the world has ever seen! I'm going to prove it to everyone! You'll see!" 

Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips, she really was like Naruto. The joy was short lived though, as he suddenly was hyper aware to something. 

He crouched forwards slightly, ducking his head, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan, the Rinnegan glowing in the other eye. His right hand went to his Kusanagi. 

Yukio's eyes went wide with fear as she crouched down lowly, looking around frantically. It was dark and the forest dense. He could sense, people coming his way. 

He made eye contact with the young girl, mouthing 'Hide. Now' to her. She nodded and immediately scrambled into the nearest bush by the tree, suddenly everything was completely still. He could only hear his own heartbeat as the wind picked up, rustling through the dark leaves, of this now seemingly endless forest. 

His eyes scanned his surroundings, they were close, he knew that, but they stopped a fair distance away, out of his reach. They were hiding themselves well, but not well enough, as he used his Rinnegan to see them in the upper tree branches. 

There was a curse as the people sitting on the trees knew Sasuke was staring right at them. A soft swish of Kunai being thrown erupted from behind him, he turned quickly avoiding those with ease, that’s when the Shinobi in the trees launched themselves at him. He evaded them, their attacks were uncoordinated and hardly those of a trained Ninja. He knocked them out quickly, wanting to avoid killing anybody, unless absolutely necessary. The way these people fought, they were hardly even Genin level. Not even a hassle.

Two more came at him, which he again simply dodged, he hit the woman on the back of her head with the hilt of his sword. The man managed to knock himself unconscious, passing by Sasuke a bit too fast and tripping over his own teammate. Who were these people? Sasuke had no time to ask himself that question as a man with silver hair suddenly charged at him from above. When he dodged it the man followed up with a coordinated attack, Kunai in hand, Sasuke quickly raised his blade, blocking it, there was some power behind the attack, but not too much. The man, grinned at him. 

Sasuke stepped back from him, so did he. “Hey Rika, do your thing!” He called over the shoulder. 

A woman with long red hair jumped down from the trees, she landed on the ground, outstretching her hand, holding a Kunai to her palm slicing across it and drawing blood. Sasuke stared, position slightly defensive, a summon? He asked himself. She slapped her hands together. The silver haired man grinned, a green glowing mark appearing on his neck, seemingly burning into his flesh. Sasuke’s eyes scanned the others quickly, the ones he had knocked out slowly got back up to their feet, a couple more dropped down from the trees, all having the same green marks on their necks.

The silver haired man grinned widely, inhaling deeply. “Oh, I love this feeling.” He exclaimed and then his Kunai thrust forwards at breakneck speed. Speed which Sasuke had not expected. He had to summon Susanoo’s ribs in order to stop the attack, he watched as the Kunai shattered at the impact on the outer skeleton.

The other Shinobi attacked him too, their movement was still uncoordinated and unskilful, but their impact was harsh, an they were fast. Sasuke’s gaze quickly dropped towards the red haired woman, who was standing with her arms outstretched, eyes glowing a bright green. She gave them the enhancements, Sasuke knew that and he also knew he had to take her out. He used his Rinnegan to close the distance between them, Susanoo deactivated, as it was draining too much Chakra. 

The woman gasped, eyes wide in fear, as Sasuke appeared in front of her. He made a grab for her throat, but before he could, he saw the silver haired man approaching from his left. He was extremely fast. Sasuke barely had time to react, as he jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the other guys blade. 

He stood between him and the woman now, guarding her. 

“Thank you, Haru.” She mumbled, strain in her voice. 

Haru didn’t reply as he pushed towards Sasuke, attacking viciously, Sasuke pushed backwards with him, using his Sharingan to foresee and block each blow. He had to wait for an opening. He also had to dodge and block the other Shinobi, who weren’t much of a issue, even though they were significantly stronger and faster, they still didn’t have any skill to use it for. 

There. The opening was small, but big enough for Sasuke. Haru looked slightly taken aback, when the Uchiha’s blade cut deeply into his side. He hissed and jumped away, Sasuke followed up, wanting this fight to be over with as quickly as possible. It would only be a matter of time until they found Yukio in one of the bushes, be it by accident or not.

Haru covered his bleeding side with his hand, eyes livid as he stared at Sasuke, who had rushed forward, ready to take him out. It was already too late when he saw that wicked grin spread across the man’s lips. He watched him flick his wrists, pulling a string and activating a trap. A barrage of Kunai erupted from out of the trees, forcing him to leap away from Haru and deflect the projectiles thrown at him. One flew close by his face, his eyes widened and he cursed harshly when he noticed the explosive tag attached to it. 

It was too late to evade. The multiple explosions that followed afterwards were devastating. Sasuke was thrown slightly across the field, Susanoo had been summoned to protect him from any major injury, he could not prevent the second degree burns he had received on his right arm and neck though. 

He quickly got back to his feet, eyes spinning madly, the smoke that surrounded the forest was thick and dense, he could not use his Rinnegan. His ears still rung slightly from the explosion, as he scanned his surroundings, waiting for any sign of the enemy giving themselves away, not wanting to just blindly walk into the smoke. It would be foolish of him. He inwardly wondered if the explosion was far enough away from Yukio.

The sound came from his left, a man charged, but he sidestepped him, cutting his achilles. The man howled in pain, crumpling to the ground, unable to stand any longer. 

“Idiot.” Was all that Sasuke heard, he turned towards the sound in the smoke, pinpointing exactly the location of who had just given themselves away. He rushed into the smoke, Kusanagi piercing the stomach of the woman who had uttered those words. She gaped at him, eyes wide open in horror as Sasuke pulled his blade back out of her. She too crumbled to the ground. The attack was non lethal, she would survive. He saw no point in killing these people, they were unexperienced and hardly knew what they were getting themselves into. They were stupid. 

“Found you!” It came from above.

Sasuke quickly summoned Susanoo, having no time to block manually with his sword. He heard the bones rattle at the impact. He summoned Susanoo’s hand too, launching it towards Haru, who blocked it seemingly effortlessly using only his Kunai. 

“My turn.” He smirked and pushed forwards, so fast Sasuke almost didn’t catch him stop in front of him, as he slammed against the outer skeleton of his Susanoo. 

Sasuke grunted slightly at the impact, not expecting it. He skitted backwards a few centimetres. 

“Didn’t expect that, eh?” Haru cheekily asked, playing with the Kunai in his hands, Sasuke watched a few more Shinobi appear out of the smoke, having found them. The raven had to act fast, wanting to avoid getting cornered by them in these conditions. “Everything you throw at me, I can throw back to you at the same strength, plus my own even. And you, can’t do shit about it.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything as all his options raced through his head, he could keep attacking with brute force, hoping to break through his defences, but that wasn’t a long term option. The smoke was blocking him from using his Rinnegan and his Sharingan could hardly keep up with the guy’s speed in these surroundings. He could just use Amaterasu or Fire Style Jutsu’s, which wasn’t an ability he could physically block, but with the smoke, he had no guarantee of him actually hitting his target. He didn’t want to risk setting the forest on fire, it was extremely close to the village, also Yukio was still hiding in there somewhere. 

He had no choice but to play defensively. Knowing fully well, keeping Susanoo permanently up like this would drain him of Chakra. 

The next attack came without a warning as Haru launched forwards hitting the skeleton armour surrounding him. His hit was nowhere near as impactful as the other one, which means his ability is some kind of charge that he had to unload in one hit, and then had to recharge it. As long as he didn’t attack him he would be good, he just had to wait for an opening. Wait for him to get careless. 

Sasuke watched him intently, keeping Haru and the other Shinobi at a slight distance away from himself. He held his breath. Now! He thought and thrust his blade forwards and just like before he made it through the other man’s offense and stabbed him cleanly into the stomach. Haru’s face twisted into shock and then vicious anger. 

“Rika!” He called loudly across the field, there was no answer in turn except, the mark on the man’s neck, which started glowing a poisonous green again. Three of the Shinobi who were with Haru started shaking violently, scratching at their throats, as their eyes rolled back into their heads and they fell to the ground. Sasuke couldn’t tell if they were unconscious or dead. 

He swiftly moved in, letting his Chidori run through his blade, with the intention of finishing the man off for good. 

Haru didn’t even look at Sasuke when he blocked the blow with his bare hand. Sasuke cursed as backed away, watching the other smoothly get to his feet, a feral grin spreading across his face. The hand that blocked his attack was buzzing with electricity. 

Sasuke was starting to feel exhausted, keeping Susanoo up for this long had been really draining his Chakra reserves. He had to retreat and get out of the smoke now, in this field he was just going to get outplayed and if Haru hit him with his own attack now everything would be over. 

So Sasuke swiftly deactivated Susanoo and disappeared into the smoke. His eyes scanned his surroundings trying to find a way out of this trap he was in. 

He didn’t make it very far though, out of instinct he summoned Susanoo yet again, due to exhaustion the action sent a burning sensation through him. When the impact of his own attack hit his skeletal armour it was as if time stood still. He watched how Susanoo’s bones cracked under the pressure, before they completely disappeared leaving Sasuke defenceless, due to not having enough Chakra to keep it up anymore. The force of the impact sent him flying and he came to a halt when his back slammed against a tree. He groaned in pain, as he quickly got back to his feet, feeling blood trickle down the back of his neck. 

Haru appeared out of the smoke, Kunai in hand going for another attack, Sasuke drew his sword blocking the blow as every fibre in his body screamed. Haru lunged towards Sasuke viciously, the raven could barely keep up, feeling the burn each time Haru’s Kunai grazed his skin. Catching Sasuke off guard, Haru kicked him in the gut. The other stormed towards him, Sasuke quickly dodged him to the side, kicking the others legs away from underneath him. Haru fell, not expecting that, the Uchiha used this moment to duck back into the smoke.

He moved quickly but quietly across the field. Stepping over multiple fallen bodies, assuming they were dead, he grimly spared them a glance. Poor, unlucky bastards. As he was running, he caught a flash of blonde by his feet, feeling his heart start to race, he halted, turning towards the body and fearing for the worst. He quickly bent down, hand outstretched, before he realized it wasn’t Yukio he was seeing. In exhaled in relief. The explosive trap laying besides the corpse caught his eye. He picked it up, deciding to use it to his advantage. 

He quickly ducked down hearing a Kunai fly past him, he heard it hit the tree. Sasuke quickly turned away from it, covering his eyes with his arm as another explosion erupted on the field. 

“I thought I heard something!” The man’s laugh echoed across the forest.

Sasuke quickly switched positions when he heard another Kunai and another explosion. How was he seeing him? He wasn’t making any noise, nothing to alert him to his current location, but somehow his enemy knew where he was located. 

“I’ll find you eventually!” Another explosion. “Just a matter of time.”

He was almost all out of Chakra. He searched the smoke frantically for his opponent, a massive headache building behind his eyes. He knew he had to get out of the smoke immediately. He couldn’t afford to lose, not with Yukio still in danger. Knowing fully well she would come charging out if something happened to him.

“You can’t hide forever, Uchiha!” Haru called through the smoke, this time he was extremely close to him and Sasuke knew where he was, attacking him would be foolish though. 

Sasuke bent down and set up the trap he had found earlier, deciding that the smartest course of action would be to let Haru come to him. 

“You’re almost all out of Chakra!” This time the voice came from a different location. He was toying with him.

“Just give up already, you stand no chance!” Again another direction. 

Sasuke already knew the man was behind him, before the other could even hiss the words “Found you.” 

Narrowly avoiding getting stabbed, Sasuke rushed forwards and away from Haru, pulling at the string of the trap he had set up. An explosion of his own followed, making his opponent back up into the smoke, a pained yelp escaping him.

“UCHIHA!” The roar sounded almost animalistic, as he heard it echo across the field. “I’m getting bored of this fucking game!”

Sasuke crouched low, anticipating the next attack, heart racing. That’s when a droplet of rain landed on his face, making him abruptly look up at the in smoke covered sky. He couldn’t help the knowing smirk that started tugging at his lips. So, there was the rain he had been waiting for the entire day. The wind picked up and it started pouring. 

The smoke began to dispel, as Sasuke stood up looking around slowly, his eyes finally landing on Haru. He saw the man charge towards him seemingly disappearing with his speed. Sasuke used his Rinnegan to see his Chakra and pinpointed his exact location. He stretched his arm out, stopping the other dead in his tracks, a look of realisation spread across Haru’s face, as Sasuke lifted him and threw him across the field, slamming him into the nearest tree. The force of the impact was so great that the bark split in half. 

Haru cursed as he got to his feet. Sasuke didn’t give the man a chance to recover, not this time, using his Rinnegan again to close the space between them. He carelessly dropped his sword to the ground, feeling electricity surge through his right arm as he grabbed the man by the throat, slamming him into the ground, Chidori activating, a second away from killing him. 

The scream that followed immediately drew his attention away, blood running cold. 

The man under him smirked. A knowing look of victory splayed across his face. 

"You lost." He grinned. Sasuke gasped as he felt the man's sword stab through his stomach. He looked down seeing he was pierced by his own blade.

"Don't move, or we will kill her." A female voice called behind him. 

"Sasuke-san! Don't worry about me! Don't worry!" Yukio cried. He couldn't look at her, favouring to stay still as he was told. 

"Hands up!" The woman called. "Now!" 

Sasuke's eyes were still on the man underneath him, hand still around his throat sparkling with electricity. 

"Go on, you heard the lady." Haru said, nodding towards him in a mocking manner. 

It took Sasuke about a second to comply, he slowly let got of the other man, Chidori deactivating, only a dull throb of electricity running through his arm, as he raised his hand. 

"Both hands! Where I can see them." The woman called angrily, Yukio screamed in panic. 

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but it wasn't necessary. 

"The cripple only has one arm!" The man called back to his teammate. 

"Then get up!" The woman yelled, clearly irritated, her voice was shaking. "Quickly!" 

Sasuke slowly got to his feet, then Rin did too. 

"I'll be taking this." He said taking the handle of his sword and pulling it out of his stomach. Sasuke inhaled deeply as his blood splattered to the ground. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, he could actually feel all of his body and how it was on fire.

"Cover his eyes." 

He felt someone approach him from behind, putting a thin piece of cloth around his eyes, tying them shut tightly.

"Don't do anything stupid!" The woman called again, voice still shaking, she was scared.

"Stop it!" Yukio called which was followed by the sound of flesh meeting flesh, as the girl cried out in pain. 

"She's just a kid." Sasuke uttered, not resisting as he felt them tie his arm to his body and fasten something around his wrist. He could immediately feel his own Chakra draining even more than it already was. He started to panic. "She's just a child." He repeated a little louder this time.

"Shut up, Uchiha." The man snarled, kicking him into the back of his knees, making them buckle as he dropped to them. 

"Please." He pleaded. He had to do something, anything, he couldn't fight, they would kill her and he had no Chakra left, but if he did nothing? What would they do then?

There was a hand on the back of his head, yanking it back painfully by his hair. He felt a surge of Chakra run from his opponent, suddenly he felt very heavy. "I said, shut it." Haru growled. 

Sasuke got shoved face forward into the dirt. His entire body felt like led, as the sounds began to dull and his mind started to wander. 

There was screaming and yelling in the background. 

He could hear Yukio cry and plead, he could hear the others yell at each other. And somehow, he didn't care. He didn't care at all. He was tired and heavy. He was exhausted. He felt hands on him, shaking him drastically, begging him to wake up. He heard laughter. But he didn't care. He felt a hand on his face, which was quickly yanked away again. His body hurt, everything hurt, he just wanted to sleep. 

Sasuke didn't care. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep. But could he? Had he not forgotten something? Someone? He didn't know. He wasn't sure. He didn’t mind forgetting either. So, there was nothing that stopped him, nothing holding him, from slipping into the darkness.


	2. 2

He and Sakura had sat at the gate of Konoha and waited. They sat there, in the dirt, waiting for someone who didn’t come. It was getting cold as the sun started to set and the wind rustled through the leaves, singing songs. Sakura sighed and slowly got up, groaning while doing so. She stretched and Naruto observed her quietly. 

 

“I have to help out tomorrow morning in the hospital.” The pink haired woman said, dusting her clothes off. She gave him a wave. “I’ll see you around, Naruto.” Unspoken words hanging in the air, as she hurried back towards the village.

 

Naruto watched his friend go, he sighed, leaning back against the wall. He decided to stay, gaze fixated on the dark road in front of the village, hoping to see a figure appear at the top of the horizon. Just a couple of more minutes, he had told himself. A couple of minutes turned into one hour and then into two and finally around midnight when the moon was shining big and bright, dusting the outskirts of the village in an eerie glow, he decided to head home.

 

He was disappointed. 

 

He was disappointed, in himself for having so much faith that Sasuke would actually show up and also in how his friend went back on his word. Disappointed in him for letting him down. And Naruto knew it was selfish of him to feel that way, Sasuke was an adult who could make his own decisions, he didn’t need to justify any of his actions. He knew the Uchiha disliked the village greatly, so he didn’t know why he had his hopes so high in the first place. 

 

Still, Naruto couldn’t help but to get upset, both at Sasuke, and at himself, for feeling entitled to his friend’s presence.

He came to a halt in front of the house he shared with Hinata. They had decided to move in together before getting married to avoid the stress afterwards. The house was nice, although too big for just the two of them. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. 

 

He could hear the dark haired woman rush towards the door from the living room. "Naruto!" She called happily, excitement was audible in her voice. 

 

Naruto turned away from her, closing the door and willing himself not to pull such a face in front of his fiancé. 

 

The woman wasn't oblivious though and immediately knew something wasn't quite right. 

 

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, brushing her long hair behind her ear. "Did it not go too well meeting, Sasuke-kun? Did you two argue?" 

 

Naruto shook his head, looking at her, not being able to keep the deep frown off his lips. 

 

"He didn't show up." He said quietly, feeling childish. Sasuke was a grown man, he himself could decide when and where he wanted to be at certain locations. If the raven decided to not show up to his wedding then so be it, he might come by another time. 

 

He walked past Hinata into the kitchen, getting some water. He needed to sit down, his lower back hurting from leaning against a tree the entire day. The woman followed him.

 

"Maybe he will come tomorrow?" She offered, trying to be helpful. She pulled the chair back and sat herself across from Naruto who seated himself at the kitchen table. 

 

"Maybe." Naruto sighed. 

 

There was a beat of silence, before Hinata spoke again. 

 

"Maybe something happened that is prolonging his travels? Like bad weather?" She suggested. 

 

"Hm. Maybe." He said, taking a sip of his water. 

 

"Didn't he answer your letter?" 

 

Naruto blinked at her, before nodding slowly. "He did, he told me he would be here on this day." Naruto looked at the clock. "Well, yesterday."

 

Hinata nodded, brows furrowed, before slowly opening her mouth and saying, "That seems odd. I always thought of Sasuke-kun to keep his word. I doubt he would not come after he agreed to it." 

 

This caught Naruto's attention. "I thought of that too, Hinata, but maybe he changed? I haven't seen the guy in almost three years, hell I spent the last eight years chasing him around and he tried to kill me the last three times we interacted."

 

Hinata ducked her head down at the last remark. Then she looked at him again. “I'm sure he will come, give him another day, or two even. Sasuke-kun seems like a man of his word to me, something probably just got in the way." She smiled, the words leaving her lips smoothly. She then stood up, taking his empty glass and putting it into the sink. 

 

"I'm certain he wouldn't have agreed if he wasn't planning on coming anyways." She said, halting at the doorway of the kitchen." I'm going to get some sleep now, Naruto, you should too." And with that she left. 

 

He could hear her retreat up the stairs towards their shared bedroom. The blonde combed a hand through his hair, letting Hinata’s words go through his head. He considered her words. Sasuke might actually have been caught up by bad weather, after all he heard the village, Kyou, where Sasuke was, was prone to heavy rainfall, storms and even hail around this time of year. Or he might have actually just decided not to come after all. Whatever it was, Naruto couldn't help but feel uneasy. 

 

\---

 

Sasuke didn't come the next day, or the day after that and Hinata was running out of reassuring things to say. 

 

He went out with Sakura to get a cake for his and Hinata's upcoming wedding. Sakura told him about this bakery, which made very nice cakes, the woman took their order and told them she will have it done and delivered by then.

 

They were sitting in silence in a cafe, staring down into their cups of coffee. 

 

"So, Sasuke-kun didn't show up." She said quietly, Naruto almost didn't catch it. She too was hurt, probably even more than him. 

 

Naruto paused taking a few seconds to answer, before grimly saying, "No."

 

"Ah..." 

 

After a few beats of silence the woman spoke again. "Naruto, don't you think it’s odd?" 

 

Naruto put down his drink, looking at her. "Odd? What do you mean by that?" 

 

"Alright, look," She started, leaning slightly over the table and closer to him, as if someone might overhear their conversation. "Sasuke-kun had answered your letter right?" 

 

"What are you getting at?”

 

Sakura interrupted him. "What if something happened?" 

 

He blinked at her a couple of times, before forcing out a laugh and shaking his head.  
"Sakura-chan, are you serious? This is Sasuke we are talking about!" 

 

"I know! But, what if? He said he would come over! He even took the time to reply to you."

 

"Sakura-chan, I don't think-"

 

"Sasuke-kun would not just write a response and then not keep his word for it! He said he would attend and now he isn't here!" She tightly insisted, pressing her palms flat onto the table, Naruto watched them cautiously, fearing she might break the wood in half. "I have a bad feeling about this, Naruto."

 

The man was silent for a few seconds, opening his mouth to reply but then closing it again quickly. "Hinata, implied the same thing. Saying she didn't believe Sasuke would just not show up after he did agree to do so." 

 

“Ha!” She called loudly slamming her hand onto the table making Naruto jump and their cups bounce slightly, he stared at the slight crack that had appeared on the wood. “See, Naruto, even Hinata-chan agrees with me.” She sat back down in her chair. 

 

"So you're telling me something had happened, like what?" Naruto asked the woman, tearing his gaze away from the soon to be broken table.

 

Sakura shrugged, brushing a strand of pink hair out of her face. "I don't know, maybe he got attacked?"

 

Naruto leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised, arms crossed. "Attacked? Really?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Are we talking about the same guy here? Sasuke doesn't just get attacked. There's no way. He probably just didn't want to show up.”

 

Sakura shook her head and sighed, raking a hand through her hair. Naruto could see she was frustrated with him, he quickly picked up his coffee and took a sip, using the gesture to avoid eye contact with his friend and to also avoid the guilty feeling that was creeping up his spine, for he himself would like nothing more than for his friend to come home.

 

She clicked her tongue. "But don't you think it's odd, Naruto? He said he would come and now he isn't here. We know he’s in that village, Kyou it’s called, right? We should go check! I have a bad feeling about this, Naruto!" She pressed. 

 

Naruto let his face soften as he put his cup back down. "Sakura-chan, I can't keep running after Sasuke. He didn't decide to come. I can’t keep chasing after him. He's an adult, he probably has his own life over there. He’s probably building his own life over there."

 

Sakura frowned, eyes lowering towards the table. She didn't say anything. The guilt finally managed to catch up to Naruto. He knew how his friend felt about the raven, even if she tried to build more relationships with others and finally let go of Sasuke. He knew it was hard for her to do so in the first place, she loved him dearly after all, so he should be more sympathetic towards her.

 

He himself was disappointed that Sasuke didn't show up when he said he would, but he couldn't keep forcing himself into the Uchiha's life. It was none of his business, neither Sakura’s. Sasuke would come around if he was ready. After all, he did take the time to answer his letter, maybe next time he would actually show up. 

For now though, the silence among the two friends was unbearably heavy.

 

“Maybe it’s the weather holding him up, I heard it’s very rainy around this time in Kyou.” She smiled at the table, not looking up towards Naruto. 

 

“You know, Hinata said the same, about the weather.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, then he softly added, “It would be nice if that were the case, I haven’t seen him in a very long time.” 

 

“Yeah..” Sakura muttered in agreement. 

 

"Sasuke could still turn up though, it wouldn't surprise me if he came on the day of the wedding." Naruto laughed softly, drawing a small giggle from his friend.

 

With a sigh the blonde got up, laying some money onto the table for him and Sakura's coffee. "Look, Sakura-chan, I have to leave, Hinata and I still need to plan for the wedding." He paused. "It’s only been two days, give him a couple more, maybe it really is the weather. He could still come by." He said, going against his own train of thoughts, that were certain the man just didn’t want to show up.

 

Sakura nodded, forcing a warm smile onto her face, it was tight and Naruto could see right through it. "Have fun with Hinata, Naruto." She said, ignoring the thing he mentioned about Sasuke earlier, maybe for the better. 

 

Naruto nodded slowly, moving to walk past her, he halted placing a heavy hand onto her shoulder. "I miss him too, Sakura-chan." He said to her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. 

 

He didn’t wait for a response, knowing he wouldn’t get one. Instead he left the Cafe, leaving the woman to sit at the table by herself, with a smile as bitter as her now cold cup of coffee.

 

"Yeah, I miss him too." She whispered. 

 

\---

 

"Boss."

 

"Hm?" Takashi asked, sitting behind the desk, not raising his head to look at one of his men and friend who had come into his office.

 

"Boss..." The man, Kiri, repeated, voice soft.

 

This caught Takashi's attention, he looked up from the papers and stared at his friend. The man’s face was set in a deep frown, his gaze shifted to the bundle of white in his arms. Takashi studied it, giving Kiri a questioning look, eyebrows raised. 

“Show me their face and give me a name.” Takashi mumbled nonchalantly, grabbing his folder from his desk and flipping through it, it was filled with current bounties sighted near the village.

The man didn’t say anything and Takashi watched him, slowly setting the folder back down, shutting it. His heart began to race as he became uneasy, the look on Kiri’s face was solemn, it made him uncomfortable. 

 

"Kiri?" He asked the man, eyes raking over the soiled white blanket. The other man kept silent as he walked towards him, his heavy footsteps sounding like thunder on the old wooden floor.

 

"Boss, you... you have to see this." He whispered. Takashi’s heart lurched into his throat, as he had rarely witnessed the man speak in such soft and soothing manner. Not even in the presence of his wife and two children. 

 

An unnerving feeling crept up Takashi’s spine as he nodded and cleared the desk with a single motion. The contents tumbled loudly to the floor, leaving the space free for Kiri to lay the body down. The person under the sheet was hardly an adult judging by the size. 

 

Takashi stood slowly, his chair screeching across the wooden floor. He reached forwards hand halting just before the dirty sheet, it was damp with rain water. It had been raining a lot lately. He looked up towards his friend. The man had his gaze averted, face slightly hidden by his hair, eyes almost blank of every emotion.

 

Now Takashi was getting really anxious, with trembling fingers he grabbed the damp sheet before slowly pulling it away from the corpse's face. 

 

He opened his mouth, words not coming out as he stared at Yukio's rotting form. The smell was what hit him first, as he tried not to gag. Almost using his other hand to cover his mouth and nose to prevent the stench of death from invading his nostrils. Takashi’s expression became dull, as he reached out with trembling fingers, brushing away blonde strands of hair from her pale face. She used to be such a pretty girl, now her expression almost seemed scared. Glassy eyes were wide, mouth torn open as if still screaming for help. He inwardly wondered what her last moments were like to provoke such a horrid expression from such a happy child.

 

He uncovered more of the body, as slowly and respectfully as he could. He tried not to advert his eyes as he saw the clean slash across her throat, his gaze travelled lower to her arm which was bent in an awkward angle. Obviously broken. His eyes stopped at the dark spot of blood in the middle of her stomach. 

 

"She had been impaled against a tree. Hung out for show, for everyone to see."

 

“Who did this?!” Takashi asked sharply, a slight tremor in his voice, as anger flared up in his chest. “Who would do this?” 

 

Takashi heard a clunk of something being thrown onto his desk. His gaze quickly snapped from the child to the sword that was so carelessly tossed down. His heart lurched in his throat as he felt his world crashing down. The blood rushing through his ears almost silenced everything else around him. A weapon he would recognize anywhere lay before him. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. He turned towards his friend, catatonic. Inwardly praying that his eyes had deceived him. But Takashi knew that wasn’t the case. He could not deny what he was seeing. 

 

"This was what she was impaled by. It's Sasuke Uchiha's." Kiri roughly said, his voice holding a certain edge to it. 

 

Takashi reached forwards, grasping the hilt of the sword which was covered in dried blood. It felt so cold and unfamiliar in his hands. So wrong.

 

Takashi opened his mouth, words still eluding him.

 

"Takashi." Kiri said, using his first name instead of addressing him as ‘Boss’. "That's his blade, in this girl, and the Uchiha is nowhere to be found."

 

Silence.

 

"God, Takashi a child is dead!"

 

"I know!" Takashi snapped back, finally dropping the sword. "I fucking know…”

 

"The Uchiha is gone, I already searched the entire village." Kiri pressed. "He had to have done it, why else would he disappear."

 

Takashi tried to wrap his brain around what was coming out of his friend’s mouth. Sasuke killed, Yukio? That's impossible. He would never have done that. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself, as he looked at Yukio’s form in horror. Takashi swore and tore his eyes away, not being able to look at her any longer.

 

"Leave." 

 

Kiri opened his mouth, obviously irritated with his boss’ and friend’s behaviour. "You can’t let your feelings get in the way of this, Takashi! Sasuke might have actually killed this kid!"

"Leave!" Takashi bellowed, slamming his hands onto the desk, the impact made Yukio's head lull to the side. Her mouth opened wider and a cockroach crawled out. He averted his eyes in disgust. She used to be such a pretty girl and now she was a rotting carcass crawling with insects. 

 

"Leave." He repeated, voice softer. "I need five minutes...just five...to think."

 

Kiri looked as if he was about to argue with him, but decided against it, instead nodding and slowly leaving the office. When the door closed with a soft click, Takashi finally exhaled.

 

He looked at the girl again, tears forcing their way into the corners of his eyes. He quickly covered her body back up, not being able to stare at the lifeless corpse of this child any longer. The fear and terror spreading across her face was not the memory he wanted to keep of her.

 

"Oh God." He breathed grasping the sword again, looking at it, before roughly slamming it back onto the table, hands pinning it there. "Sasuke, what have you done?" 

 

There was no way the Uchiha would be capable of such a vile and vicious act. Then again, he didn't know Sasuke well enough, he knew what the man was capable of and what he was willing to do, but he just couldn't picture him harming a child. 

 

Gradually he turned, letting himself fall into a chair and cradle his head between his hands. He could feel a headache forming behind his eyes, a sob threatened to claw its way up his throat but he suppressed it, knowing Kiri was just outside the door.

He was burning with anger.

He couldn’t even begin to comprehend why Sasuke might’ve done it, if that even was the case. Hell, he really didn’t know anything about him after all. The only shreds of information he’d gotten were the ones that Sasuke wanted him to have. However, he’d still managed to get attached to the Uchiha, and now he was left alone, hoping like a fool that this murder was not done by his hands. 

 

He dragged a hand down his face, trying to will his tears away, but they just kept falling. 

Someone murdered Yukio. 

 

He really couldn't believe the Uchiha would do this. He always regarded the girl with kindness and fondness, never being rude to her once. He had kept her safe and out of trouble for a long time. Not once complaining about her following him around, even saying she reminded him of someone he was very close to.

His stomach lurched and he suddenly felt sick, the reek of her carcass overpowered everything else in his mind.

 

There was a knock on his door, startling him. He looked up towards the entrance quickly. 

 

"Takashi? It has been ten minutes." Kiri called through the door. 

 

Takashi's head snapped towards the clock automatically. He had been standing here for ten minutes? He carded a hand through his hair, a sigh escaping him as he tried to relax his breathing and to calm himself. 

 

"Come in." He finally called, voice shaking, hearing the door creak open. 

 

Takashi pushed further away from the desk, not being able to stay beside Yukio anymore. 

 

Kiri had closed the door behind himself, not moving from the place he stood. He regarded his friend with weary eyes. Takashi knew the man could see he had been crying, but he did not care to show weakness right now, he knew the man would do the same. He had a two daughters of his own after all. Even if he did not consider Yukio anything close to his child, she had still been a presence around him for the majority of the time he had spent with Sasuke. His men knew her too. She was a well regarded kid in the village. The foolish little girl who wanted to become a ninja. Now she would be known as the foolish little girl who died before becoming a ninja. 

 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and he sighed, raking a hand through his messy brown hair. Kiri waited patiently for him to say something. 

 

"What do you think?" Takashi finally asked. Kiri raised a brow at that question, so the brunette followed up. "What does this look like to you?" 

 

"I already told you, Takashi," The other man began, watching him cautiously. "Everything points towards Sasuke Uchiha, the girl was impaled by his sword in the woods, everyone knows she followed him around like a dog, we know his past and what he has done, and what he is capable of. The man is gone. No trace of him. There's no denying how everything points towards him." 

 

Takashi nodded slowly." Sasuke left a bit over a week ago. He was planning to go back to the Hidden Leaf Village, where he is from." He said, explaining to the man why the others couldn’t locate Sasuke. "I doubt he would be capable of doing such a horrendous thing to this child. Kiri, he treasured Yukio. He was fond of her.”

 

"You can't let your feelings get in the way of this, Takashi!" Kiri snapped angrily. He treaded closer until he stood right before the desk, resting his hands in front of the white sheets that hid Yukio's body from view." I know that what you had was special to you-"

 

"You don't know shit." Takashi hissed, interrupting the other man. He then pointed at the corpse. "I may not have known him too well, but I knew him well enough to know that he would never do anything like that!" 

 

"She’s dead damn it! Have you gone fucking blind?!" 

 

"I TOLD YOU I KNOW!" 

 

The shout that tore from the younger man's throat took Kiri aback. ”God..."

 

“I’m sorry.” Takashi breathed. “I just- I don’t know what to do…. I saw her almost every day! Laughing and smiling and following Sasuke around and now she’s- she is fucking laying here on my desk, rotting away, with bugs crawling all over her.”

 

Kiri said nothing for a while watching his friend cautiously. It was silent, the only audible sound was the heavy raindrops drumming against the window. 

 

The older man broke the uncomfortable silence. 

 

"What do we do now?" 

 

Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired. He closed his eyes, thinking a couple of seconds. He didn't want to do anything stupid, not now. He couldn't afford it. 

 

"Kiri, inform the authorities about her death, tell them about how and where you found her." He began, catching the other’s attention. The man nodded slowly standing straight. "How many people know it's Sasuke's blade?" 

 

"I found her with a four man squad. We decided to consult you at first, seeing how you knew her well and given your... involvement with the Uchiha. Although Mia was with us and you know how she is. She likes to talk, by tonight it'll be known by the entire village that the Uchiha might be the killer." 

 

"Damn it, Mia." Takashi hissed, jaw tightening. He halted, taking a few moments to think about the best and smartest way to tackle this situation. 

 

"Okay, you will go to the authorities," He repeated, pointing at Kiri while not looking at him, eyes set on the sheet. "I will inform the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf that one of his former Shinobi is the suspect of a murder investigation." 

 

Takashi leaned forwards grabbing Sasuke’s sword, pulling it closer towards him. "I will be keeping this. Hopefully they will be kind enough to send us a team to help with the search, because we damn well know the authorities won't do shit." Which was right to assume, the authorities were two villages away and hardly ever came over. It was considered a blessing if they actually investigated anything that the villagers reported. The only real law enforcement the villagers of Kyou had, were Takashi and the people working for him or with him, keeping everything at peace, but even then they were still relying on outside help, for he had to collect the bounty sums from them and take reports of murders, thievery and missing people.

 

Kiri nodded. "Very well." He moved towards the door, before halting, sparing a glance at the body wrapped in the sheets on his desk. "Who is going to inform her mother? She had been going crazy with worry. Searching the village almost day and night."

 

There was silence. 

 

"I'll do it." Takashi said. Kiri didn't answer to that as he quietly left the office. 

 

\---

 

His knuckles wrapped against the door. He waited a few seconds, when nothing came he knocked again, louder and harder this time. 

 

He could hear a curse and stumbling behind the door. 

 

He had been drenched by the rain, shivering from the cold, breath visible in the air. It had been raining a lot lately. The bundle in his arms was soaking wet, the sheet clinging to Yukio's body, showing an obvious outline of a dead child.

 

The door was yanked open harshly, as he was greeted face to face with Yukio's mother, Miss Mekai. She stared at him, eyes puffy, her hair a mess and greasy. It was obvious she had been drinking, barely able to hold herself upright, wobbly leaning against the door. A glance past her showed the chaos her house was in. She was a wreck.

 

"What?!" She spat at him, the penetrating scent of alcohol hitting him harshly. Her cold eyes searched his face in for an answer, he opened his mouth to speak, but what would he say? Could he even say it? 

 

She raised her brows, eyes looking downwards stopping at the bundle in his arms. Her mouth opened, then she covered it, tears slowly falling down her face. She stumbled backwards against the door frame, sliding to the ground as a quiet cry escaped her. 

 

"No." She whispered, shaking her head frantically, she sighed drunkenly lulling her head to the side. "No. That's not true. Don't tell me it’s true." 

 

Then she laughed. She laughed so loudly and shrill it startled him. 

 

She grinned, reaching out her hand to him from the floor. "Let me see." She whispered, seemingly not herself. Takashi couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or the desperation of a mother speaking. 

 

The woman crawled towards him on all fours, getting into the rain herself. “Let me see!” She desperately whispered, reaching out towards Takashi from the ground, as if not having the strength to stand any longer. 

 

The man nodded and shakily bent down, getting to his knees and joining her on the wet cobblestone floor. A gust of wind flew past him, seemingly trying to push him over, he couldn’t feel anything anymore, the cold making his body numb. He feared he might drop Yukio. 

 

The woman reached for the wet sheet with trembling bony fingers. She removed it and Takashi feared she might stop breathing. A sob escaped her lips as she reached forwards with both hands to touch her daughters face, then she pulled back as if not knowing if she should. She stared at her, eyes raking over her body. Hand slowly going to her face, shakily trying to remove the wet hair clinging to her forehead. 

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but with a jolt, her body lurched forward and forced out everything she’d drank to ease her pain. The contents of her stomach spilled over the child she’d been searching for, staining the already soiled sheets a nasty colour, and all Takashi could do was watch, holding Yukio tightly. 

She cried with ragged breaths, hands frantically going over her daughters body as if she didn’t know where to grab the child she’d been so accustomed to embracing before. She’d never have that chance again.

 

"My baby." The woman choked out, hands caressing her little one’s cheek with mindless strokes. "My baby, oh God no, sweetie, oh no, my baby!" 

She pulled Yukio into her own arms, relieving Takashi of her weight, Yukio's head bent back in an odd angle against her mother's chest, mouth ajar, as if trying to answer her mother’s pleas. 

 

The woman could barely even scream, her voice breaking. "What have they done to her? What have they done to my child?" She cried violently, rocking back and forth as if trying to calm her child. Trying in vain to lull her to sleep. “They hurt my baby!”

Takashi could hardly keep his eyes on the scene in front of him. He felt warmth run down his face, the only thing he could feel in this cold. 

 

"Mommy is here, don't cry, don't cry!" The mother babbled breathlessly, kissing Yukio’s forehead and wiping her face, ridding it from the rain.

 

Takashi felt his stomach lurch, not being able to witness this scene any longer. He moved slightly to stand up, but the woman launched forwards, grasping his shirt, her sharp nails digging into his skin as she yanked him towards her. 

 

"Who did this." She hissed, letting the rancid scent of alcohol and bile drift over his face. “Tell me!”

 

Takashi’s hesitated before opening his mouth, not knowing what to say. He swallowed down his sadness. 

This woman, this mother, holding her dead child in her arms deserved honesty.

 

"I don't know, but we are suspecting Sasuke Uchiha." He whispered, unable to keep his voice from breaking.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Took a while but it's here now :)

A groan escaped his lips as Sasuke awoke. 

 

Feeling his back scrape against a cold stone wall, the man shifted and opened his eyes. It was dark. He felt his lashes brush against the cloth that was bound tightly around his eyes, covering almost half of his face. The putrid stench of the room invaded his nostrils, it smelled damp, dusty, and old. 

 

He moved his arm, hearing the jingle of chains to his right as pain shot through his muscles. His chakra was low, being drained by the metal around his wrist, he assumed. When giving it an experimentally harsh tug it didn’t loosen, nor budge. 

Sasuke breathed deeply, opening and closing his fist, as he tried to get the blood circulation flowing again. At least it wasn’t fixed above his head. He shifted, attempting to a get more comfortable position against the wall. 

 

The raven slowly moved his head from one side to the other, listening to his surroundings. He heard nothing. 

 

His head hurt, pain radiating from behind his eyes. He tried to remember what had happened. Then it suddenly it hit him. Yukio. 

 

He tried to yank on his arm again, the chains grating in a protest, the sound flying across the room. He cursed harshly.

 

Abruptly, he stilled, hearing footsteps down the hall, slowly approaching him. He tilted his head slightly to listen better, jaw set tightly in place as pain pulled up his spine. 

 

The person stopped. He heard them inhale deeply and then exhale again, mumbling something incomprehensible under their breath, as if trying to calm themselves. It was a girl. 

 

There was a sound of keys jingling as he heard the girl unlock the door. It took her a few attempts to either find the right one, or get it in the keyhole, Sasuke couldn’t tell. When the door opened he decided to stay motionless, leaning limply against the wall. 

 

He heard her approach him, setting something besides him onto the floor, before leaning down herself. Her clothes rustled, as he felt the presence of her warmth and heard her loud breathing. 

 

Her hands grabbed his face, with icy cold fingers, almost making the Uchiha jump. She pressed the tips into his jaw, trying to get him to open his mouth, he felt a cold object press against his lips, the smell of food invading his senses. Sasuke decided it was time to speak. 

 

"Where's the little girl?" 

 

The girl gasped and immediately let go of his face as if she just had been shocked. The object, a spoon he assumed, fell from lips and cluttered to the ground, the metallic sound echoing through the room. As she scrambled away he heard her knock over something else, a cup filled with water, Sasuke quickly found out as he felt the liquid soak into his pants. He automatically looked down at the mess, even though he couldn't see it, before looking upwards again. 

 

"Oh God, I'm sorry!" She gasped, breathing heavily, he thought she was about to hyperventilate. "I'm sorry!" 

 

He heard her rustling, as she scrambled even further away from him. Her breathing was almost hysterical. Sasuke tried to angle his head into her general direction.

 

"Where's-" 

 

"I'm sorry!" The girl called again, crying frantically, interrupting him. 

 

Sasuke licked his lips, opening his mouth again, but the girl just kept on crying and apologizing. He noticed that he wouldn’t get anywhere with her like this, so he tried to change his approach. 

 

"Calm down, girl." He said, but she didn't listen, so he got louder. "SHUT UP!"

 

The girl gasped, and then shut up, muffled breathing as she covered her mouth. 

 

"Calm. Down." Sasuke said slowly. 

 

"I'm sorry." The girl whispered, she didn't move. "I was just trying to feed you. I didn't know you were awake, I swear." 

 

Feed him? How long was he out for? It didn’t matter, he had to find Yukio. 

 

"Listen to me, I was with a little girl before I got here, where is she?" 

 

There was silence. "A girl? I... I didn't see a girl, you're their only captive, they brought you in alone."

 

Sasuke tilted his head at that, trying to listen to her better. "Alone?" He asked. "Are you certain?" 

 

"Yes." 

 

His heart began to race, as dread piled up in his stomach. Did they let her walk freely? Would they risk that? They said they wouldn't harm her if he cooperated, which he did, but still, would they really keep their word? Thousands of possibilities raced through his mind. 

 

"How long was I out for?" He asked her, not being able to keep his voice from shaking. 

 

"About a week." The girl whispered.

 

He cursed. Fist clenching against the chain. "The people who brought me here, the Shinobi, are they here?" 

 

There was silence, then she answered. "I'm not too sure, I don't have much contact with them, I hardly ever speak to them, unless I'm spoken to." 

 

Unless she was spoken to? Was she a servant maybe? Sasuke contemplated, the girl was hardly putting up any fight spilling secrets, unless she had nothing worth telling. 

 

"What do they want from me?" 

 

"I don't know. They don't tell me anything, I'm just here to take care of you while you were unconscious." She said hastily. “I was just supposed to keep you alive.”

 

Sasuke frowned at that. "They don't tell you anything?" 

 

"No." 

 

She was easily giving him all the answers to question he had asked, not the answers he had hoped for, but still something considering how terrified she was. 

 

"How old are you?" He asked her. 

 

"Fifteen." She said quietly. 

 

A kid… trapped in a cell with a former missing-nin. She was probably fearing for her life, he exhaled deeply, deciding to change the subject.

 

"Aren’t you going to pick that up?" He asked the girl, nodding towards the ground where he knew she had dropped the spoon and spilled the cup.

 

"O- of course!" The girl called, scrambling over to him. She halted a few spaces away, he felt her slowly bend near him, grasping the stuff and quickly putting it away. "I'm sorry about the water. I can get a fresh cup."

 

"There’s no need." Sasuke cut in, preventing the girl from going onto a rant again. "I am not very thirsty, nor hungry."

 

"O- okay!" She stuttered. 

 

Sasuke shifted, sitting up straighter against the wall. He hissed at the pain. 

 

"I'm sorry, I tried to heal your wounds as best as I could, but I am not a medic-nin." She hastily explained, he felt her grab his shoulder in an attempt to steady him, before quickly removing her hands, as if burned.

 

"It's fine." Sasuke said, exhaling through his nose. He tilted his head to look into her general direction again when he heard her stand up. "If you hear, anything, about a little girl, would you tell me?" He licked his lips, trying not to sound desperate, but he was. 

 

There was hesitation in her voice when the young girl answered. "Of course." She finally said. “Maybe I could ask for you?”

 

“No.” Sasuke quickly cut in, fearing the naive girl would get herself in trouble if she started asking questions. “Just if you overhear something, don’t go asking questions.” 

 

The door creaked open loudly, Sasuke stilled, listening intently, trying not to seem too tense. The girl gasped, immediately shutting her mouth and scurrying away from him.

 

"Rika-sama." The girl greeted the other person respectfully.

 

"I thought I told you to tell us immediately when he wakes up." The woman, Rika, hissed harshly.

 

Behind the blindfold, Sasuke’s eyes widened. He would recognize that voice anywhere, it was the voice of the woman that had threatened Yukio’s life. And her name, he heard Haru use it as well to address the red haired woman. Sasuke inwardly swore, he should have dealt with her when he had the chance. 

 

"I'm sorry, Rika-sama! I just got carried away and I didn't think about it, I didn't mean to-" The girl hastily explained. 

 

"It's fine, Yui. Go to your room and rest, you did well, but I will be taking over now." Rika's voice got soft, having a soothing undertone to it. He could tell that she cared at least somewhat for the girl. 

 

There was silence accompanied by the rustling of clothes, Sasuke assumed Yui had nodded, before shuffling out of the room, hearing the door shutting behind her.

 

The stillness in the room grew, as he felt Rika's eyes digging into him. The air was tense as he could sense the hate radiating off of her.

 

"Where's the little girl?" Was the first thing Sasuke said, his voice echoing through the cell. 

 

The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Sasuke listened intently to her breathing, opening his mouth to repeat the question, but she interrupted him. 

 

"Do you know who I am?" 

 

He moved his head into her general direction, eyebrows raised slightly behind the blindfold. Did he know who she was?

 

"No." 

 

"Of course you don't!" She snapped, stomping over to him. She loudly dropped to the ground before him, leaning in, she was so close to his face he could feel her warm breath fan across it. "Of course someone like you wouldn't remember!" 

 

Sasuke frowned, trying to find out what she was talking about. His thoughts raced as he looked through the possibilities where he could have met this woman. He didn't recognize her, nor her voice, name, or face when he saw her in the forest. 

 

His jaw tightened when she suddenly grabbed it painfully. 

 

"I wish I could force you to look at me, look me in the eye and make you remember who I am!" She spat, fingernails digging into his face, drawing blood. "But I can't and you're so lucky for it."

 

There was silence as Sasuke said nothing, feeling her pulse race through her thumb. 

 

"I'll ask you again, do you know who I am?! Do you?!" 

 

"No." Sasuke answered, because it was the only answer he had. He did not know who she was. 

 

"Oh, very funny." She breathed heatedly against his face. "I know who you are though, Sasuke Uchiha. As if I could ever forget!"

 

"I was eleven years old when you and Orochimaru's men came into my village. When you people raided it and slaughtered us all like animals!" She snarled. "I was only eleven years old when you came into my house killed my father and struck down my mother, before pushing me to the side and telling me I'm weak. And all that for a God damn scroll."

 

A scroll? Then it hit him, the red hair and green eyes he had seen in the woods. He knew her, it had been ages, but even after all these years he never really could fully forget his past. 

 

….  
….  
….  
….

 

Sasuke kicked down the door to the house, walking inside, harshly grabbing the man that was cowering on the floor. He had only been under the Sannin’s wing for a bit under two years, but he had learned a lot in that time. Be it how to perform summons, or how to blank out certain emotions. Sasuke hasn’t felt empathy in a very long time, guilt or shame managed to crawl their way back up is spine from time to time, but they never really stuck around for too long.

 

He and a few other men under Orochimaru's control were ordered to go to the village, close to the border of the Sound. There was a man, who had an important scroll, of Jutsus, his teacher had not yet discovered. So he sent Sasuke and a few others to raid the village and find it. 

 

The raven left the house he had just entered, the man still cowering on the floor behind him. He had easily given up the information and whereabouts about the person Sasuke was looking for. It was pathetic in his eyes at how disloyal most people became in the face of fear. He didn’t want Sasuke to take his life so he offered another in his place, it was weak. 

 

The Uchiha moved through the village towards the house he was pointed to. Eyes unknowingly adverted to the mess that was going on around him. He didn’t need to watch Orochimaru’s men to know what they were doing. He heard people screaming, begging for mercy, he continued his path though, forcing down the unruly feeling in his gut. Sasuke needed this, he told himself. He needed this power to beat Itachi and if this was the way to obtain it, then so be it. 

 

He reached the house, eyes scanning it, the curtains were drawn shut, lights off. It was untouched too, not damaged, not broken and not burning brightly. It oddly enough felt out of place with the rest of the village. Sasuke stepped onto the property, reaching for the door, pushing it open. The wood creaked loudly as he stepped inside. The hallway was dark and empty, shoes scattered at his feet, three pair including one of a child. He left the door open as he slowly moved through the narrow hallway, Sharingan activated, Kusanagi in hand. He stepped over the books that were flung to the floor from the bookshelf, as if someone rushed past them in a hurry and had knocked them down. 

 

He placed his hand on the handle of the door besides the shelf. He pushed the handle down, stopping quickly when he heard a small sound, from across the hall. His head snapped sideways, eyes focusing on the room it came from. He moved towards it’s and opened the door that led to it, the wood made no sound as Sasuke stared into the dark room. The light from the hallway gave the it an eerie shine. 

 

His eyes halted on the family cowering in the corner. A man in front of his wife and child. He was holding a scroll in his hands, clutching it to his chest, Sasuke assumed that was the scroll Orochimaru wanted. 

 

He took one step towards them, halting a fair distance away. 

 

The man snarled. "What do you want?!" His voice betraying his face, trembling with fear. "Leave us!" 

 

"Orochimaru wants something that you have." The Uchiha said, voice monotone. He saw the man tightening his grip around the scroll. 

 

"Orochimaru is crazy!" The man hissed viscously. "Do you even know what he would do with this Jutsu?! It's dangerous! It should not fall into his hands!" 

 

"I am aware." Sasuke lied. In fact he did not know what the Sannin was planning to do with that Jutsu in the scroll, he stopped asking Orochimaru questions about his antics a long time ago. What the man did was none of his business, Orochimaru gave him what he wanted, the power to kill Itachi and avenge his clan. What else he did wasn't up for Sasuke to know or decide. 

 

Sasuke held out his free hand, the unspoken words of 'give it to me' hanging in the air. The man stared at him, mouth agape, he saw his wife grab his shoulder, frantically whispering something into his ear, but the man shrugged her off, shaking his head. 

 

"I won't give it to you! Over my dead body!" He yelled across the room. The wife stared at her husband and then at Sasuke arms tightening protectively around her daughter. The little girl stared at him, short red hair, green eyes brightly lit with fear. 

 

Sasuke waited a few more seconds, staring at the man, their eyes meeting. He gave him another chance to hand it over, turning the Kusanagi so that the blade gleamed slightly in the moonlight. Threatening him with unspoken words. The man's eyes wandered to the sword, before turning back to face the raven. 

 

He bared his teeth, almost seeming like a rabid animal. "I will not give this Jutsu to the likes of you or Orochimaru!" 

 

Sasuke heard the wife gasp at those words, grabbing her husband's shoulder, but the man didn't break eye contact. Sasuke blinked, stepping forwards slowly.

 

"Very well, then I'll just have to take it." 

 

He appeared in front of the man, grabbing the scroll with his free hand, giving the husband and father another chance to save his own life by just letting go, but he didn't. So Sasuke's blade pierced his chest. The man gaped at him, eyes wide in shock, his grasp loosening around the scroll. 

 

Pulling his sword out, then man slowly slumped over, the scroll staying in Sasuke's hand as blood pooled around his feet. The woman screamed, launching forwards to grab her husband. Leaning over his heaving body. The little girl was not making a sound, just staring at him with eyes so big and fearful, he thought they might pop out of her skull. 

 

He turned away from the family, leaving the room, just as he was about to reach the doorway and step into the hallway he heard a scream. 

 

He turned just in time to see the wife launch herself at him, teeth bared in a snarl, kunai out. "You murderer!" She roared and then she gasped, when she ran right into his blade, she looked downwards in shock as if not remembering the sword being there before.

 

She fell to the ground with a small thud, struggling to breathe. The silence was deafening as Sasuke stared at the woman clinging onto her life, eyes on his. The girl let out a whimper, he watched her run over, dropping at the body of her mother. Shaking her, but the eyes of the woman were dull and empty already. 

 

Sasuke watched the little girl grab the kunai from her mothers in blood covered hand. She shakily stood up, holding it in front of herself. The Uchiha was about to raise his sword and strike her down too, just like her mother and father, but then he didn't, oddly enough. He didn't know why. 

 

Instead he let the little girl charge him, burying the kunai in the flesh of his upper leg. She panted staring up at him as he looked down at her, her eyes were so full of fear. He felt like he was staring down at his former self when he discovered Itachi in the bloodbath of his parents. His fingers tightened automatically around the hilt of his sword, he was nothing like Itachi. But if it meant becoming like him, to beat him, then so be it. 

 

The girl gave a cry and yanked the kunai back out of his leg, leaving only a dull throb behind, as he felt the blood seep into his pants. He watched her pull back, going for another stab, this time aiming a bit higher towards his stomach. He grasped her wrist before she could, squeezing it. She gave a cry, letting go of the kunai and dropping to her knees. He let go of her, as she stared up at him, tears falling down her face. 

 

His hand tightened around the hilt of his Kusanagi, blood dripping off the sharp blade. He set his jaw in place. He was not like Itachi, but he would do anything to gain the power to avenge his clan and kill his brother. Anything. 

 

His grip on his sword relaxed and he exhaled deeply. He was not like Itachi. 

 

"You're weak." He said to the girl who just stared, eyes fixated on his blade stained in her families’ blood. Was he really that different? He was. Sasuke was certain of it. 

 

So he left the girl and the house behind, heart racing in his chest, as his eyes raked across the village that was now nothing except a pile of ash, eerie orange glow going up into the night sky. He stepped over a dismembered body on the floor, not even sparing it a glance. 

 

Deep down a dreadful feeling started to arise. He was slowly becoming afraid of who he was turning into. He was terrified of becoming like Itachi. The more he turned a blind eye towards what others did, the more he himself slaughtered and killed, innocent or not, the more it felt normal to him, almost natural. He had to become stronger and if he lost all sense of emotion, if he just became empty, it was a price he was willing to pay. 

 

…..  
…..  
…..  
…..

 

"I remember." Sasuke said after a few beats of silence. “I know who you are.”

 

He heard the woman inhale deeply, furious, still keeping a tight hold on his jaw. 

 

"That night, when you and Orochimaru's men came to our village, that was the worst night of my life." She hissed lowly, he felt her breath fan across his face again as she moved even closer. "The night when you told me I'm weak. I will never, ever forget that. The night where you killed my parents. You murderer." She paused, breathing harshly, he could feel her racing heart beat through her sweaty palm. 

 

"I swore revenge. I spent years on the streets after what you did, barely a handful of us survived. And then three years ago, the Master found me and he took me under his wing. And I told him my story and he promised me to grant me my revenge and so now here you are." 

 

Her Master? No, the Master. The way she said it implied a name not a title. Sasuke knew there was someone bigger and more greater behind the attack on him, there's no way they could have constructed it themselves. 

 

"Your Master?" Sasuke asked, testing the title theory.

 

"Not, my Master. The Master." She snapped at him, sounding almost hysterical while doing so and confirming what Sasuke had initially thought about. "He is the Master of us all and we all are made to serve him. He will purge this world from people like you, scum. He is kind to those who obey him, but merciless with those who do not fit his views. He will change the world for the better." 

 

Change the world to the better? He tried to think about anyone he had noticed or heard about the last couple of years that were known as The Master. He could think of none. Which meant that the person was either not making any moves or staying under the radar, but this still left one question unanswered.

 

"What do you want from me?" He asked her.

 

"I told the Master about you and he immediately was intrigued. He didn't tell me what he needed you for, not yet, as long as he still needed to prepare, but he told us to keep you alive and that you're the key for the new world order. The Master is very sick at the moment and needs some time to prepare in order for him to reach his goals. Our goals." She said her voice almost sounding sincere. 

 

What did he have that was so important? It didn't take Sasuke long to figure out, there were only two possibilities after all. Either his bloodline, or his, no, Itachi's eyes. He assumed it was the latter. He cursed inwardly letting his head fall against the concrete wall behind him. 

 

He heard her get up and move away from him. The tone of her voice getting fierce. "Whatever it is though, I hope it's long, painful and slow. So that you can finally feel the way I felt all those years ago, you killed the only people I had, and burned my village to the ground." She slammed the door loudly on her way out, the sound thundering through the room. 

 

“Wait!” Sasuke called loudly and Rika did, she halted behind the door.

 

“Where is the little girl?” 

 

The woman didn't answer at first, the silence stretching on and on until she finally uttered the words Sasuke was dreading to hear. "Dead." Voice muffled by the door.

 

Sasuke's heart lurched into his throat. He felt nauseous. 

 

"What?" He asked breathlessly, feeling every muscle in his body tense as he leaned his ear towards her, praying he misunderstood. 

 

"Dead." She repeated. Her words feeling like razor blades on his skin. 

 

"You said you wouldn't harm her." Sasuke whispered, voice shaking slightly. She was only a child, she had nothing to do with this. If he had just been faster, if he had taken her out immediately the fight wouldn't have been dragged out for so long. If he hadn’t let them set off those traps, they would have not gained the upper hand. He had fought too cautious, too slow, too careful and now he paid the price for it. No, not him, Yukio, she paid the price for it. "She was just a child, why - you said you wouldn't harm her." 

 

Rika took a few seconds to respond. "She was giving us unnecessary trouble. If she would have just stood still it would have not been an issue, but she just had to resist." She said, voice tight, wavering slightly, before she hastily left. He knew she was lying. Lying through her teeth. Yukio posed no threat, they killed a defenceless little girl who just wanted to play ninja.

 

He killed her.

 

Sasuke slammed the back of his head against the concrete wall behind him, closing his eyes tightly. She was only a child. He had been stupid for letting her get so close to him. He was responsible for her death. It was dangerous to follow him around, he knew that, but still he let her. He let the child be killed, her blood stained his hands.

 

He exhaled deeply through his nose, trying to will the crippling sense of guilt away. 

 

The silence dragged on as the sadness started to well up inside him. His throat closing tightly, almost painfully around his sharp breaths as he swallowed down the feeling of grief. Yukio was dead. She looked up to him and he had gotten her killed. He felt warmth soak into the cloth wrapped around his eyes, as he sat there in the quietness of his cell.

 

He would never forgive himself for this. 

 

\---

 

Takashi stood in front of the mirror, pale hand going through his brown hair, eyes narrowing at his reflection. His fingers brushed against his collar, tugging to fix it. There was a knock on his door. 

 

"Yes." He said, eyes not leaving the mirror, instead using it to stare at the door behind him. 

 

Kiri came in, dressed all in black. His face was worn in a deep frown. Takashi raised his eyebrow in an unanswered question. 

 

"We asked everywhere, no one has seen the Uchiha ever since that day. The last person he spoke to was the old Lady Mika, we are assuming." Kiri finally said, walking inside and closing the door behind him, giving the two of them privacy. 

 

"Did she report anything unusual?" He asked his friend, who shook his head in return. 

 

"No, she said he acted as normal as always. Brought her the groceries, didn't say anything, she said he seemed sad though. As if something wasn't quite right. She wasn't too sure. His attention wasn't really on her, she said, he seemed distracted." 

 

Takashi nodded slowly at that, turning to look at his friend. "That doesn't give us much." 

 

"No. No it doesn't." Kiri sighed, fingers brushing his scalp. He licked his lips, then asking, "Have you contacted the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf yet?" 

 

"Yes." Takashi lied, turning away from Kiri to stare at his own reflection again. He looked sick. Skin paler than usual, eyes dull and deep set. He hadn't slept properly in days. "We will have to wait for an answer." 

 

Kiri said nothing as he just nodded, knowing fully well that the man was lying. But he didn't call him out on it, instead he left the room, letting the door fall softly shut behind him. 

 

Takashi let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, swiftly moving over to his desk and yanking open the top drawer. The contents inside gave a harsh sound as they slid across the wood. 

 

He stared down at them, cold fingers grasping the envelope besides Sasuke's sword. He spared the blade one last glance, it was still covered in blood and dirt, it was evidence after all, he wouldn’t tamper with it anymore than it already had been. He looked away before slowly closing the drawer again, locking the weapon used for murder out of his sight. 

 

He stood in silence, fingers coming up to trace the outside of the envelope addressed to the Hokage. An envelope containing a letter, accusing Sasuke Uchiha of murder and requesting a four man squad to help with the investigation. 

 

His chest tightened painfully, he couldn't help but feel like he had just betrayed his friend. However, Yukio's mother needed this, the village needed this, and so did he. They all deserved closure after all. 

 

He shakily exhaled, closing his eyes tightly and slamming the envelope onto his desk with a soft curse. He felt like scum, feelings of shame about himself and his emotions welled up in his chest making him wonder how low he had sunken, and how could he let one man destroy him so much. How could he let his judgment be so clouded.

 

Takashi tried to force himself to think of something else and quickly summoned a messenger hawk. It stared at him, head tilted to the side, yellow eyes piercing his gaze intently. He somehow felt as if the bird was judging him, and nearly laughed out loud at that. Sasuke made him weak and pathetic. A joke really. 

 

"You shouldn't have gotten attached."

 

Sasuke’s voice echoed through his head. 

 

I really shouldn't have. He thought to himself. His hand came up to his face pinching the bridge of his nose. The hawk screamed loudly, startling him. He looked at it, watching the bird skitter slightly on his wooden desk as it approached at him. 

 

He exhaled, leaning forwards and tying the envelope around the hawks leg, who was holding it out for him. 

 

"Alright, listen." He said, voice tight, the hawk watched him. "I want you to bring this directly to the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. No one else. Directly to him and don't leave until you get an answer. And don’t let anyone stop you. You got me?" The hawk screamed so high Takashi winced. 

 

He held out his arm and the heavy bird jumped on it, digging his claws painfully in his arm. Takashi opened the window and before he could even speak the hawk was already gone, shooting urgently through the sky. 

 

Takashi's eyes grazed over the village, watching the mostly empty streets. The sun was shining, which was odd, considering all the rain they had before. Such a beautiful day on an event like this. The sky was a deep blue. The afternoon seemed to be filled with warmth and joy. Yukio would have loved it. 

 

Takashi pushed away from the window, leaving it open and moving to the door. When he opened it he was greeted by Kiri who was leaning against the wall opposite of him, watching him. 

 

"You did the right thing."

 

The man didn’t answer at first, moving down the hallway, hearing his friend follow him. "I know I did." He finally said, when Kiri fell into step beside him. They left the building, the warmth of the sun reminding him of hot summer days. 

 

It was a beautiful day, too beautiful for a funeral.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


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